The franchise took to Twitter to make the announcement of the departure of the only veteran player left from their 2022 roster.

“Words can not capture just how important @danteh was to the Outlaws,” the Houston Outlaws tweeted.

“Through thick and thin, he was the center piece of our team. Thank you for everything, Danteh. You are truly a GOAT.

“Once an Outlaw, always an Outlaw.”

Danteh reacted to the announcement of his exit from the Houston Outlaws, thanking the organization for the past four years and the fans for their constant support.

“Thank you for everything throughout the last 4 years @Outlaws,” Danteh tweeted.

“I always had so much support from the fans and the team, I am really happy I had the chance to play here.”

Danteh has joined the long list of veterans who have been released from their teams, and is the fourth player to have left the Outlaws this offseason. Supports Youngwan “Creative” Kim and Joseph “Lep” Cambriani, along with tank Tomas “Doge” Kongs?re had been released by the franchise two weeks ago.

The Overwatch team’s roster is now down to three players, including support Jungwon “Lastro” Mun, DPS players Oh “Pelican” Se-hyun, and Choi “MER1T” Tae-min. Assistant coach Lee “HoChiLee” Dong-young also parted ways with the Outlaws a week later.

The Houston Outlaws had a good run in the 2022 season, having made their way to the Overwatch League 2022 playoffs tournament for the first time in the team’s history.

They ended up finishing third after an inspiring upper-bracket run in the tournament that saw them defeat the Toronto Defiant, the San Francisco Shock, and the London Spitfire before falling to the Dallas Fuel, who went on to win the tournament.

In the lower-bracket final against SFS, who had rampaged through the lower bracket, the Outlaws suffered a 0-3 sweep from the Shock. However, Houston clinched the most prize money in the team’s history ($350,000).

Danteh played a huge role in the team’s success, and his exit has come as a shock to some fans. He is one of the few remaining Overwatch League players who have played in all five seasons, having been a part of the San Francisco Shock’s inaugural roster.

He started out his career in Overwatch in an off-tank role before later making the switch to the DPS position. After the inaugural season with the Shock, he made his way to the Houston Outlaws and has remained with the franchise for the past four seasons.

Danteh’s ability to flex into the tank role has often been attributed as part of the reason the Outlaws had an outstanding season. Having experienced some poor outings over the years, the 2022 season was by far the team’s best run yet.

With the new Overwatch 2 5v5 feature, Danteh was seen swapping his typical DPS position to become the solo tank for the team. His DPS experience saw him use heroes such as Doomfist and later utilize some traditional tank heroes.

It remains unclear if the 23-year-old will become a free agent, be traded, or move into retirement.

?More esports news

The post Houston Outlaws part ways with Overwatch veteran Danteh appeared first on Esport Bet.

Seoul Dynasty has added Kim “lr1s” Seung-Hyun to their Overwatch League roster. ? ?

The South Korean esports organization recently announced they had traded Kim “Creative” Young-wan, the flex support of the team. The former Seoul Dynasty player was traded to the Outlaws, who in turn handed over lr1s, their own flex support, to conclude the deal.??

Seoul Dynasty announced the trade using a set of graphics to bid their former player goodbye and welcome Ir1s. In the post, they said that while the decision may come as a surprise to fans, they were thankful for Creative’s efforts on the team since 2019 and added that the team would not have had their success without him.

Seoul Dynasty Roster Update#SeoulDynasty #TigerNation pic.twitter.com/zm8RiPDN9A

— Seoul Dynasty (@SeoulDynasty) August 23, 2022

?Ir1s was signed on by the Houston Outlaws towards the end of 2021. At the time, the player was a free agent after parting ways with the Atlanta Reign. He was integral to the team’s success in the 2021 season after playing with several heroes before landing on Baptiste and getting commendable value.

?He parted ways with the Atlanta Reign in October 2021 and joined free agency with several of his teammates, most of whom have been signed on by other Overwatch League teams.

Ir1s was the second addition from the Atlanta Region to join the Houston Outlaws after Oh “Pelican” Se-Hyun had previously signed on.?

?While at the Houston Outlaws, Ir1s played beside Mun “Lastro” Jungwon, another flex support on the team for most of the 2022 season. In order to make up for the lack, the duo took on main support duties and broadened their hero pools.? ?

The Outlaws recently brought in Tomas “Doge” Kongs?re as the team’s tank and Joseph “Leo” Cambriani as their main support. Doge previously played in the North American and European circuits and was a part of teams like Raspberry Racers and Shu’s Money Crew EU. ? ?

Leo was a part of the Contenders scene and played with teams like Karasuno and Revival. The player was recently a part of the Overwatch teams for Northwood University and Pirates in Pyjamas.?

?Due to the addition of these two players, the Ana or Zenyatta specialists would no longer have to exert the previous level of flexibility. The team’s new player, Creative, will join Lastro to provide increased alternatives for the Outlaws. ?

?With his move to the Seoul Dynasty, Ir1s will be a part of the support line beside Park “Vindaim” Jun-woo. Park “Profit” Joon-Yeong, the team’s longtime DPS, moved to the back line over the weekend to play Brigitte.? ?

The move earned the team two wins, and with Ir1s’ addition, the issue of quick-changing metas will be given a better solution.

Seoul will be taking on the Los Angeles Valiant in their next fixture, and the game is scheduled to be held on August 26. Seoul are pegged as the overwhelming favorite on GG.BET esports with 1.05 odds.

The post Seoul Dynasty add Ir1s to Overwatch roster? appeared first on Esport Bet.

?After years of mediocre results, the Houston Outlaws put their foot down and completely restructured their roster for the 2021 season by signing some of the best talent from the Overwatch Contenders competition. Perhaps the most notable signings of the offseason were tank Cho “JJANGGU” Myung-heum and off-tank Shin “PIGGY” Min-jun, who joined the Texan outfit with a built-in synergy from their time together at Talon Esports.

The Dallas Fuel have hit the reset button as well, keeping only Kim “Doha” Dong-Ha from their 2020 roster. The new lineup looks adaptable to a possible meta shift due to the flexibility of their players, but much of their long-term success will come down to coach Hee-won “RUSH” Yun.

The Fuel should improve as the season goes on, but due to all the roster and coaching staff changes, they will likely be in for a slow start. We prefer the Outlaws at this price.

?It may seem weird seeing the Los Angeles Gladiators priced this short considering how uninspiring they were last season, but they made all the right roster changes during the offseason and now field a very capable side that can make some noise during the 2021 Overwatch League campaign.

If their performance at the SteelSeries Invitational is any kind of indicator, the addition of Kim “MuZe” Young-hun, Jin-seo “Shu” Kim, Grant “moth” Espe, and Min-seok “skewed” Kim could take LA to their best season yet. They are still weaker than the San Francisco Shock, but the gap is not nearly as big as it might seem at first glance.

It’s important to note that the Shock haven’t played a single official match since they won the 2020 OWL Grand Finals in October, whereas the Gladiators already have two games under their belt from the SteelSeries Invitational. We wouldn’t bet on LA to finish the season higher than San Fran, but they definitely can surprise the ring-rusty champions in the season opener.

The post Overwatch League May Melee betting tips – April 16, 2021 appeared first on Esport Bet.

Houston Outlaws Strikes Major Sponsorship Deal With Energy Titan

The Houston Outlaws, a top North American Overwatch League pro esports team, recently struck a historic sponsorship deal with US energy sector titan NRG, owners of Reliant Energy. The deal comes after the Outlaws were acquired by Beasley Media last year.

For NRG, this isn’t their first rodeo in sports sponsorship. It does represent a first for esports, as no other major energy sector companies sponsor any North American teams. The company, with a strong presence in Texas, foresees considerable synergy between the Outlaws and NRG.

With the agreement, the company hopes to increase its appeal among young consumers. Similar deals with other corporate partners would be very beneficial for the North American esports scene.

Asia

FACEIT Set To Launch Collegiate Esports League In Turkey

Esports tournament company FACEIT has partnered with Gaming in Turkey for a new collegiate esports league. The league will cover CS:GO tournaments in the nation at the student level. CS:GO has exploded in popularity in Turkey in recent years.

The first tournament to originate from the new deal will be the Collegiate Esports League Turkey. It’s set to start in 2021, over the fall semester. Turkish universities will be able to field their own teams and communities through the FACEIT platform.

Gaming in Turkey has plans for several other collegiate esports leagues for 2021. They include a collegiate League of Legends tournament and a collegiate Valorant competition.

Africa

Predator Gaming Announces New Call Of Duty: Warzone Tournament

Computer hardware company Predator Gaming has teamed up with the African Cyber Gaming League to launch a new Call Of Duty tournament. The Predator Warzone Showdown will take place over a span of two months, bringing together the best African COD talent.

For eight weeks, South African teams will face off every Wednesday for weekly qualifiers. A weekly finale will be played every Friday after each qualifier. Predator Gaming is putting up the prizes, with 20,000 South African rands up for grabs.

Each Wednesday, the best four teams will qualify for the finale. On Friday, they’ll face off against four invited teams for weekly prizes in a single-elimination bracket.

Europe

St. Petersburg’s FC Zenit Enters Sorare’s Fantasy Football Platform

Russian Premier League FC Zenit Saint Petersburg has officially joined Sorare. The global fantasy football platform allows players to collect and trade digital player cards, used to build their fantasy teams. All FC Zenit players are now available as Sorare digital cards.

Launched in early 2019, the Sorare platform boasts more than 40.000 users. Since its inception, it’s undergone very rapid growth, driven mostly by word-of-mouth. According to the company, user growth has averaged 52% per month since launch.

In order to play fantasy football through Sorare, players need at least five digital cards. Gamers accrue points depending on the real-life performance of the players whose cards they own. Russia has been one of the fastest growth markets for Sorare.

South America

Seven Teams Step Out Of Argentinian LoL Liga Master Flow 2021

Argentina’s Liga Master Flow is a League of Legends tournament established in 2019. Winners qualify for the Liga Latino Americana tournament (LLA), where they can win spots in the League of Legends Worlds Championship.

Now, after failing to reach an agreement, eight Argentinian teams are stepping out of the competition. They include Furious Gaming, 9z Team, Nocturns Gaming, Coscu Army, Wygers, Feint, and Malvinas Gaming. They’re all sports betting favorites, and their failure to participate will no doubt drastically reshape bookmaker odds for the event.

An eight team, Undead Gaming, also signed the statement, but will still compete in the tournament. LMF organizers, Liga de Videjuegos Profesional, have announced that new teams will be considered for participation in the tournament.

Oceania

Australian Esports Platform Mogul Completes Successful Funding Round

Mogul, the Australian-based esports tournament and matchmaking service, completed a successful fundraising drive. The company conducted a share placement (which was massively oversubscribed), managing to raise more than $8 million AUD.

Both existing investors and new players poured cash into Mogul’s coffers. Gernot Abl, Mogul’s chairman, personally invested more than $50,000 AUD. The money will cover company operational costs for the next 24 months.

As Australia betting sites and bookmakers continue to dive into esports, Mogul can grow substantially. The company will be developing its brand engagement and monetization strategies over the coming years.

The post Daily Esports & Gaming News – Saturday October 17 appeared first on Esport Bet.

Houston Outlaws unveiled on Saturday, December 7 that Jake was leaving the team after deciding to step away from the professional Overwatch esports scene.

Jake started his professional Overwatch career in 2016, when he joined -bird noises- as a DPS player. While an unknown team, -bird noises- fostered some of the biggest stars in today’s professional Overwatch scene, such as Season 2 champion Matthew “Super” DeLisi and Boston Uprising support Connor “Avast” Prince.

At the start of 2017, the team was picked up by Hammer Esports, which later saw their full roster acquired by Luminosity Gaming Evil. While at Luminosity, Jake won the CyberPowerPC 2017 Extreme Gaming Series Spring Invitational and finished second at the Overwatch Carbon Series Major.

The LG Evil roster disbanded in August 2017. At the end of October that year, Jake signed for the Houston Outlaws in the newly formed Overwatch League. He also represented Team USA in the 2017 Overwatch World Cup, where he finished fifth-eight.

The following year, Jake decided he would not tryout for the Team USA for the 2018 World Cup and instead became an esports caster for Contenders League and the 2018 Overwatch World Cup alongside Andrew “ZP” Rush.

“I’ve sacrificed relationships, sleep, and so much time to become a professional player,” he wrote.

“Despite the sacrifices, though, I do not regret chasing down my childhood dream. The chance to compete at the highest level among the best players on the planet was worth it all.”

Jake went on to say he had lost some of the fire require to compete on a professional level, claiming he would rather retire and pursue new dreams and goals than “give less than 100% effort and collect an OWL player salary for another 12 months”.

He added that the rapidly shifting Overwatch meta made it difficult to strike a manageable work/life balance.

“In giving everything to grind the game, I have forcibly stagnated my process of learning, growth, and exploration that I feel allowed me to reach this competitive level in the first place,” said Jake.

“As a pro player, I felt that I was just treading water trying to keep pace with the rapid pace of improvement/adaptation that is a constant in the OWL.”

Jake also pointed to the constant travel, which will only increase in intensity with the introduction of a home-and-away format for the 2020 OWL season.

Despite leaving the competitive Overwatch scene, Jake has hinted he could return as a caster, analyst, or possibly even a coach.

The post Former Houston Outlaws star JAKE retires from Overwatch appeared first on Esport Bet.

USA BETTING: HOW TO BET ON ESPORTS
OWL 2018: ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE OVERWATCH LEAGUE
TIPS HUB: ESPORTS BETTING PREDICTIONS

Stage 4 standings table

1st place: Los Angeles Valiant (9 V – 0 D)
2nd place: Los Angeles Gladiators (8 V – 1 D)
3rd place: New York Excelsior (6 V – 2 D)
4th place: Philadelphia Fusion (5 V – 3 D)
5th place: Houston Outlaws (5 V – 3 D)
6th place: Dallas Fuel (5 V – 4 D)
7th place: San Francisco Shock (4 V – 5 D)
8th place: London Spitfire (3 V – 5 D)
9th place: Seoul Dynasty (3 V – 6 D)
10th place: Boston Uprising (2 V – 6 D)
11th place: Florida Mayhem (1 V – 7 D)
12th place: Shanghai Dragons (0 V – 9 D)

Betting predictions for June 14

Houston Outlaws (5 V – 3 D) vs. Philadelphia Fusion (5 V – 3 D)

Houston Outlaws has had a fairly good run so far in Stage 4, defeating teams like London Spitfire and Dallas Fuel in the process. Its defeats came against the current top 3 teams in the league (Los Angeles Valiant, Los Angeles Gladiators and New York Excelsior), so no surprises there. Overall, Outlaws looked capable of holding its own against most adversaries, but still got completely crushed by the really strong teams.

Philadelphia Fusion had a fairly poor run in Stage 3, finishing 8th with a record of 5 W – 5 L. In Stage 4, the team has had a slightly better run so far, losing against Los Angeles Gladiators, Dallas Fuel and New York Excelsior and winning against the likes of San Francisco Shock and Seoul Dynasty.

In terms of overall performance throughout the Overwatch League and recent form, these two teams are of similar strength. However, in their previous 3 direct encounters, Philadelphia Fusion won every time (score 3 – 2).

Betway puts the odds at 2.55 – 1.45 in favor of Philadelphia Fusion, clearly expecting a victory in their favor but still giving Houston Outlaws a lot of respect. I believe this assessment is almost precisely correct, but the odds should have been higher on Fusion’s part. That’s because the chance of a Houston Outlaws victory is higher than what these odds reflect.

Betting prediction: Philadelphia Fusion to win, paying $1.44 at GG Bet.

Florida Mayhem (1 V – 7 D) vs. London Spitfire (3 V – 5 D)

Apart from Dragons, Florida Mayhem is without a doubt the second weakest team in OWL. Its abysmal 7 V – 31 D record, which is actually a 3 V – 31 D record (because 4 of those victories were against Shanghai Dragons) clearly suggests that it has absolutely no chance against the stronger teams. And London Spitfire is definitely one of them, in spite of its poor recent form.

London Spitfire is the Stage 1 champion, but the team has lost a lot of its prowess since then. In Stage 3, Spitfire finished in 6th place with a record of 5 W – 5 L. Stage 4 hasn’t been any easier for this team, which is now standing at number 8 with 3 victories and 5 defeats. The only important team defeated by London Spitfire in Stage 4 was San Francisco Shock. At the same time, Spitfire’s defeats came against key opponents such as New York Excelsior, Houston Outlaws, Dallas Fuel, Los Angeles Valiant and Los Angeles Gladiators.

Every type of indicator points towards an easy London Spitfire victory in this match.

Betway puts the odds at 7.00 – 1.07 in favor of London Spitfire, and this is practically free money to be made.

Betting prediction: London Spitfire to win, paying $1.07 at GG Bet.

New York Excelsior (6 V – 2 D) vs. Boston Uprising (2 V – 6 D)

New York Excelsior is easily the best team in OWL in terms of overall performance, sitting on a record of 33 V – 5 D. Two of those 5 losses took place in Stage 4, against Los Angeles Valiant (2 – 3) and Los Angeles Gladiators (2 – 3), but Excelsior is still one tier above almost every other team in the league right now. So a defeat against Boston Uprising in this match is very unlikely.

Boston Uprising has suffered the most shocking drop imaginable in the last 5 weeks, going from a 10 V – 0 D record in Stage 3 to a current 2 V – 6 D record in Stage 4. I’m not sure how that was even possible for a team that seemed unstoppable for the entire duration of Stage 3, but apparently the loss of its head coach has played a significant role in this.

Recent form, overall form and head to head statistics all favor New York Excelsior to win this match.

Betway puts the odds at 1.10 – 5.75 in favor of Excelsior, giving Uprising a lot of undue respect.

Betting prediction: New York Excelsior to win, paying $1.10 at GG Bet.

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